Numb
by Anti Darth Ani
Summary: His life has always been planned out for him. He fights for a cause he doesn't believe in. He's a puppet and his father holds the strings. And the only one who could hope to change that is the one girl who never wanted to. (Companion to Breaking the Habit
1. Tired

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By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter One: Tired

Author's Notes:

What can I say besides I finally got this story up and running? I know it's been a while, but this is the companion story to Breaking the Habit. No, you don't need to read that story to understand this one. This fan-fic has the same _basic_ plot line as Breaking the Habit, but this one is from Draco's side of things (so you know it's going to be a little darker and mysterious). You will finally learn all the answers to the questions I left unanswered from Breaking the Habit!

As you can tell, this story's title is, like the one in Ginny's point of view, taken from the title of a Linkin Park song. The chapter titles are the lyrics of the song in order. So, I don't claim or own them or anything like that.

I'm sorry to say that this story isn't going to be in the same flashback format as Breaking the Habit was. I really wanted to, but I'm sure some of you are really relieved that I'm not going to since it was such a pain in the butt to read it that way for many of you!

I also want to warn you real quick that I am going to be slow to updating this fan-fic, at least at first, because I am extremely busy with school right now and I am also still writing Seven Minutes in Heaven, along with a Without a Trace fan-fic on without further ado, let's get a rolling on this wonderful little story of mine. And remember, reviews make my day!

They told him if he didn't think about it, it wouldn't hurt. Who had told him that? He couldn't seem to remember as the throbbing in his arm doubled, another slice cutting into his perfect, pale skin. Was it Crabbe? No, that little git had passed out when he had gotten his, no words of wisdom from him. Plus, Draco would not have bothered remembering something Crabbe had told him. So who had it been then?

Certainly not his father. He didn't talk to his father anymore, never really had. Mainly he had listened to his father talk about the way he wanted his son, his only child, to carry on in his father's footsteps, to fulfill the Malfoy destiny.

_Is this my destiny?_ he asked himself, biting down on his tongue to keep from screaming out. The brightness didn't blind him so anymore. He could make out the blurry figures looming over him a little better. Everything in his sight consisted of different shades of black except for that blasted brightness. _What kind of life will this destiny give me?_ He wanted to please his father, mostly because his father and his mother were the only family he had (and he had grown up learning that his mother was far too weak to honor).

Everything seemed twisted and distorted in his mind. Why would his father want to hurt him like this? It wasn't as if Draco didn't act interested in his father's cause, and the greater cause of the Dark Side. And surely, his father couldn't have realized so quickly that Draco's mind lay on a different issue entirely, an issue every teenage boy understood quite clearly.

He hissed out and he felt the burn of the healing process begin. _Bloody… sodding… idiots. I'll kill them all one of these days._ His anger matched the stress he had been feeling for the past six weeks. Pansy still didn't want to realize that he had no _feelings_ for her, that his interests lie in the other beautiful girls of Hogwarts. Say, the blonde ones. Besides, he was far too busy with Quidditch practice and docking points from all the students in the halls at night to have to worry about that whinnying little bitch. Sometimes he just wanted to bash her head against a wall.

Dizziness overwhelmed him and he was jerked upright. He couldn't bare to look down at his arm, to see what they all saw, what they took as a symbol of honor and alliance. What the hell had he gotten himself into? Wincing at the all too bright lights, he waited for the room to stop spinning in his eyes.

He didn't need his vision to know that the man in the black cloak before him was his father. Draco knew that self-satisfied smirk as his own, the one he forced everyone to see as he walked around Hogwarts as the king. It didn't matter if they liked him, as long as they respected him- as long as they feared him. Draco got that from his father.

Speechless was something Draco Malfoy never was. But, as he stood in front of his father and his father's colleagues, he couldn't find his voice. Suddenly, he wasn't the king of the world anymore. He was surrounded by other men, stronger men who knew how to kill- had to wipe the blood off of their hands at night. Swallowing, he raised his head and forced himself to look his father in his eye. Draco was anything but a coward and he was going to prove that to his father- to the world- if it was the last thing he ever did.

He grunted as someone behind him roughly jerked his head back. Suddenly, he was looking directly into the blinding light. Yet, at the same time, he couldn't force himself to look away. He wasn't afraid, no Draco Malfoy was never afraid. But he was consumed with the knowledge of what had just happened to him- what he had let them do to him. He heard the soft click of a boot onto the cement floor. Draco tried to face his father in front of him, but he couldn't pull away from the hand holding him.

Cool metal slid over his neck, causing him to shiver slightly. The man behind him sneered, the only way these Death Eaters ever laughed. Then he was abruptly pushed forward. He tried not to stumble, he didn't want to have to have his father's help (or his touch). Looking past his sooty hair, Draco stared at his father's arm for the first time. Pulling his sleeve up of his own robe, he stared at his identical mark and felt the bottom of his stomach drop. This is what he had become. His father.

Draco jerked up in his bed, wincing at the pain that shot up his arm and through his entire body. God, it never stopped hurting. He looked around and frowned, wishing to be at his house, in his room with his own bloody House Elves who would do anything he asked of them. Here, he was limited to a warm fire and clean robes. Everything else he had to do himself.

Pushing his sheets to the side, Draco slid out of the bed silently. Not that he had anyone to disturb; the great advantages of being Head Boy, it seemed. Now, it all seemed so pointless because it couldn't help him sleep at night; couldn't prevent the nightmares that plagued him. All the powers in the world, all the magic he knew, couldn't make him forget, and it certainly couldn't get the blasted mark to disappear.

Although that hadn't stopped him from trying every removal spell written. But the Death Eaters were a smart bunch, and wouldn't let anything spoil their plans that they took from the Dark Lord. So they made sure it was impossible for the mark to be removed, for the chain to never come off of his neck. And even the nightmares he couldn't rid himself of. No matter what he did before he slept, or no matter who he slept with, they still came back eventually. He could only numb himself for a little while.

Pulling on his cloak, not even feeling the sharp pain that went through his arm as the fabric touched the twisted flesh, Draco headed for the door. Well, if he couldn't sleep, he might as well get an early start on docking points. It always made him a little happier to see two little third years pissing their pants while being caught in the broom closet.

Making his way through the cool hallways of the lower parts of the school, Draco let his mind wonder to the day ahead of him. So much to do, and so little time to accomplish it in. And, it was only one more week until the Yule Ball. Quidditch season was making sure he kept busy. So Draco had enough to do to keep him mind off of his father's plans for him.

He decided to check the library first. He always caught at least one student trying to sneak into the Restricted section late at night. And then there were the over achievers who loved to study at the wee hours of the morning. Both types of people sickened him to no end.

Making his way into the warm library, Draco strained his ears for just the smallest peep. Any sound at all and he'd hear it, that was for sure. He heard the tiniest rustle coming from the back of the library. As he walked closer and closer to the sound, he realized it wasn't a rustling at all. It was someone snoring, softly maybe but still snoring nonetheless. The trademark smirk of the Malfoy clan crossed over his pale face when he thought about the rude comments he could make. If his own pain wouldn't go away, then he would lessen his pain by pushing it onto others.

He didn't know who was going to get the treat this morning, but he silently hoped for it to be a Gryffindor, or maybe even a Ravenclaw. Either way, it didn't matter in the end to him as long as he got the final result.

As he slid silently through the overstuffed stacks in the back of the library, the faint sound grew even louder until it almost sounded like a whisper. Finally, the end of a table came into view and Draco pushed his long legs to make longer strides. He could almost see the person sitting at the table. A few more meters, four or five at most, and he would be able to find his prey. As Draco rounded the end bookcase, he caught sight of a red mass of curly hair.

Oh, someone was out to make his day a good one today. No one to bother would make him feel a little bit better about himself than a Weasley, except maybe Harry Potter himself. Draco figured that Potter's little stalker might do well enough as he got closer, enough to see the tattered, hand-me-down rags Ginny Weasley wore.

He walked over behind the little 6th year, one of the only girls left at Hogwarts who hadn't seemed to really hit her growth spurt yet. He couldn't see her face, only the hair attached to the head that was laying face down on a Potions book. Her forehead rested on her arm, her hand still clutching a quill she'd been writing a paper with.

Leaning over her, Draco put his mouth as close to her ear as a Malfoy dared to a Weasley. His mind still fogged over with his reoccurring nightmare, Draco couldn't think of a perfectly excellent snide remark for the littlest Weasley, so he simply cleared his throat.

She seemed to stir slowly, her large mass of hair barely shifting as she woke up. Then, before Draco even knew what was going on, her head shot up as she realized she'd fallen asleep in the library. As her head flung up and she scrambled to sit up, the side of her head came in full contact with the front of Draco's nose.

Hissing at the pain, Draco's hand came up quickly to feel his nose, his gut telling him that she'd just broken it. "Bloody hell, Weasley!" he snapped loudly, dropping his wand in all the commotion. At his comment, her head swung around and she gasped at seeing him. Draco rolled his eyes and snatched his discarded wand back up into his hand as he carefully touched the end of his nose with his other hand. It hurt to touch it, but at least it wasn't bleeding (badly).

"50 points from Gryffindor," he spat at her stunned face. "If we weren't in such a public place, Weasley, I'm inclined to say I would have put an extremely painfully curse on you. But, for now I'm afraid I'll have to postpone that." He wanted to get out of there, to go to the hospital wing and have his nose checked before anyone in the school saw it.

Ginny face turned into a frown. "I'd like to see you try," she mumbled, collecting her things quickly. And before he could say another word back to her, she had pushed past him, intentionally shoving her shoulder into his side as she walked by. Draco glared at her retreating form, thinking of all the remarks about her cowardliness he would be able to use at breakfast if he just happened to walk by the Gryffindor table.


	2. What You Want Me To Be

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By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Two: What You Want Me To Be

Author's Notes:

Well, I'm sorry that updates take so long, I really am. But I am a busy girl. What, with this story, Seven Minutes in Heaven, and then Waiting For My Rocket To Come and When It Rains In New York, my Without a Trace and CSI:NY fan-fics on (this story is posted on both fan fiction. and under Anti Darth Ani).

But I am working as fast as I can. Reviews always encourage me to work faster and they really brighten up my day hint hint. :P

I know some of you would like to know when I'm updating and uploading new chapters and stories. I'm thinking about opening up a mailing list site where fans of any of my stories can sign up and know when I update. And I could also post special previews on new stories and new chapters there. If anyone would like to see that happen, just make sure to mention that in your review and I'll see if I get enough feedback to make it worth it.

>>>>>

Sadly, Malfoy didn't get any special chances to just happen to pop by the Gryffindor table, so his name calling for the day would have to wait. After all, he had other things to do than pick on the little Weasley prefect. Although nothing would have brightened his mood more than slapping that loose lipped bitch right across the face. But she was one of his minor problems at the moment, he realized as he stared hopelessly into the mirror.

It wasn't like a simple cowlick a little magical gel and a simple spell could fix. No, he couldn't fix this part of his image. That ugly scar forever burnt into his arm. It was too hot to keep wearing long sleeves day in and day out. But he'd tried every concealing charm he knew and even tried a few he'd never heard of before (the later resulting in a weekend in the infirmary wing of the school). Draco fumbled with his wand, balancing it on his fingers while he studied his outstretched arm.

The worst part was that people weren't even suspicious. It was like everyone already knew about him becoming part of The Cause. They even expected it from him. Draco kicked the mirror angrily. He was fed up of doing what people expected of him. He didn't want to have to deal with his father's pride, or the family name. He wanted to be on the other side of the war, or not on a side at all. But Draco refused to give up all the things that came with the family name (mostly the comfort of living wealthy and well fed).

"Damn it!" he shouted, tossing his wand away from him, ignoring the green sparks it released. "I can't do this!" he screamed at his Muggle made mirror. "I can't deal with all this anymore!" He wanted to kill someone. Wanted them to feel pain instead of him, wanted to hear their screams over his own.

But then he would be no better than his father. And the only thing that scared Draco more than Muggles taking over the world was Lucius Malfoy. "Fuck it all!" he yelled to the walls of his room. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, **fuck**!" Yet, the yelling did little except make his throat hurt and his lungs contract.

Instead of killing someone, Draco settled with picking up the bottle of ink on his desk and hurtling it across the room at top speed. The shatter of the glass against the wall had no affect on his anger, and the black ink just blended into the color of his wall, so there wasn't even a sign of his discontent. _Can't take it_, he said to himself, running a hand through his perfect hair. _Can't take any of it anymore_. Draco looked at his horrible reflection in the mirror. _Don't want him inside of my head anymore_, he thought, on the verge of a breakdown. _Just want to get him out_.

"**Get out**!" he yelled out loud, crumbling to the floor in a mass of tortured flesh and black robes. Draco sucked in a deep breath of air and began to rock back and forth as the scars on his arm opened up. Blood began to slowly trickle out in flowing rivers. _He's punishing me_, Draco thought helplessly as the pain consumed him. _He knows I won't ever fight for the cause and he's going to slowly kill me because of it_.

"I give up," Draco cried hoarsely. "You can take me if you want. Just make it stop. Make it stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop…"

>>>>>

When Draco slid wordlessly into the back of the Potions classroom, easily taking a seat next to Pansy, no one said a word. In fact, they didn't even seem to recognize that he had entered the lesson late. Although Snape loved having Draco in his class because of the high marks Draco made in Potions, even Draco wasn't off the hook for tardiness. Although he was the Head Boy, teachers knew he used that excuse far too often when he thought he could get away with it, and since he was now in his last year of schooling, the teachers were starting to crack down on him harder.

Yet, as Draco pulled out his Potions notebook and essay he'd written the night before when he's nightmares had kept him awake, not even Pansy said a word to him. Having Pansy ignore him was one of the best things Draco could imagine for himself. But when she actually did ignore him, it felt weird. He needed the attention she gave him, even though he hated her for being herself. She was still a female and Draco still had needs (not that he would ever let her try to fulfill them).

He decided he really didn't want the attention after all. He'd gotten a lot of attention from the Death Eaters lately, and they'd turned him into a wreck. If anymore people paid attention to him, he'd might end up mad like Potter, hanging around with Mudbloods and Mudblood lovers.

Draco took his quill out of his bag, but as he positioned it above his notebook, he couldn't make himself focus on what Snape was saying. He looked at the blank paper in front of him and he saw his father staring back at him. He saw red dots covering the paper in random increments. He saw the fathers of his classmates sneering at him while they held him down and tortured him. Draco tossed him quill down on the table soundlessly and slumped down in his chair.

Pansy finally managed a look at Draco, but she didn't say a word to him. Instead, she shifted in her chair just the littlest way away from him. Draco wanted to scream, wanted to ask her why she was acting so distant when she was usually ready to jump his bones.

Nothing was like the way it had been the year before. Before his father had forced him to form an alliance with the Dark Lord. School was already proving to be hell this year, and it wasn't even halfway over yet. With the way people kept acting strangely around him, Draco was surprised he'd made it this far into the year without killing someone already.

The class seemed to end before it had even begun. As Snape began to dismiss them from the classroom, he shot Draco an odd look. At the same exact moment, Pansy slid Draco a small, folded up piece of parchment. Curiously, Draco leaned forward in his seat and snatched up the piece of paper, unfolding it while he shoved his notebook back into his bag.

In Pansy's silky, extremely annoying, handwriting, were the few words Draco wanted to read the least. 'Glad you're taking me to the Yule Ball this weekend.'

When had he agreed to any such arrangement? He hadn't and he knew it. Draco knew Pansy was desperate for him, but he was just as desperate, if not more, to stay away from her. He'd go to that dance by himself and leave with almost anyone but Pansy. There was no way he was going to let her hold him down, not when he couldn't stand being around her in the first place.

_I'll show that annoying witch_, Draco thought standing up with the rest of the class. He could feel her eyes on him, watching to see him react. Well, he wasn't going to cause a big scene because the less people that knew about Pansy thinking he was going to take her to the ball, the better. Instead of giving her an answer, Draco followed his fellow classmates out of the Potions classroom. And as he left, he threw the piece of paper into Nevelle Longbottom's burning cauldron without a word to Pansy.

_We'll see who's taking whom to that dance. My father may be able to control part of my life, but there's no way anyone else is going to get the same chance as my father. Not even bloody Pansy._ Draco smirked to himself and he marched down the hall with his head held high. This whole Yule Ball situation wasn't going to suck as much as he had first thought. Finally, a way to show Pansy that although she pined after him, he didn't need her and never would.

So now all he needed was the perfect girl to escape with on the night of the dance. At least things were going to keep his mind off of his father and the Dark Lord for a while.


	3. Feeling

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By: Anti Darth Ani

Chapter Three: Feeling

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Author's Notes:

I known it takes me forever with this story, and which Seven Minutes in Heaven, but here's a new chapter to keep you content while I work on the next chapter and all my other stories. Reviews make me feel better and get me to update faster. hint hint :P

I'm not sure if I've already mentioned it, but it's important that you know that this story is the companion piece to my other story, Breaking the Habit. If you hadn't already read that story, you don't really need to. But if the idea sounds familiar, it's because the **basic** plot line is going to be the same throughout the rest of the story. Just thought you'd like to know :P

P.S. Also, if you have a little spare time and you would love to see these chapters up faster, I'm looking for an editor for my story. It would allow me to update a LOT faster. So if you have the time to edit quickly, then leave a note in your comment, along with your e-mail or AIM, and I'll get back to you.

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It was one of his favorite traditions of the school. It was an excuse for girls to get all dressed up, although he often wondered why they bothered since over half of them would be naked by the end of the night. They got all happy and drunk and begged the boys, no make that gentlemen, to take advantage of them. The secret to the Yule Ball though was to not take a date with you. Draco had learned this little fact after his fourth year. You go to the dance by yourself and then you simply hook up with the best dressed up girl at the Yule Ball. Then you won't be disappointed.

Draco reminded himself of this fact as he drowned down his Butterbeer, imagining that it was a Fire Whiskey or something equally strong. The restrictions on the ages of drinking at the school were really ridiculous, not that the Slytherins and many others hadn't found ways to get around them. How could you not be disappointed when you couldn't even really get piss drunk on the most 'exciting' evening in the school year? Draco let out a short sigh and drowned down the rest of his drink until he could see the bottom of his glass.

A pair of arms draped around his neck from behind. His face immediately turned into a frown as his hands automatically reached for his wand in the hidden pocket of his dress robes. "Relax," a silky voice whispered into his ear and a hand reached for his to prevent him from grabbing his wand, "all I want to do it dance, Draco."

Draco shrugged off the arms. He didn't want to look like she owned him or anything. In fact, he didn't even want to be associated with her. Not since her father had tied him to that chair and branded him with the mark that haunted him every night in his dreams. No, he didn't want anything to do with her. But she still managed to find him no matter where he went, no matter how many times he yelled at her that all she was to him was a little whore who couldn't satisfy him anymore. He didn't think anyone could be as thickheaded as his father, but Pansy came pretty damn close.

"Fuck off, Pansy," Draco snarled and reached for his wand again. As his hand wrapped around the handle of the long stick of wood, Pansy began to suck on his ear. "Now, Draco, don't try to hide your burning feelings for me. I know it's hard for you sometimes, but you really do need to learn not to let your sexual frustrations turn your mood so sour."

Draco stood up quickly, grabbing her chin in his hand. He jerked her head right up close to his. "Shut up you bloody harpy and listen to what I'm saying for once in your life. You have ten seconds to get away from me before I blow your head off your oversized shoulders. Understand?"

Pansy laughed. She actually had the nerve to laugh at him, right in his face. "I know you wouldn't ever hurt me, Draco. You're too afraid of what my father would say to me if you did." Even with her face covered by a beautiful mask, he still could see her horrible face through it. And it disgusted him. Releasing her face, Draco turned around and headed for the dance floor. He knew she would follow him so he needed to find a distraction, anything to keep her away from him for just a little while.

A couple landed on the floor in front of him as a new song began to play. The male began to walk away, so Draco quickly grabbed the girl's hand. He lead her further into the mass of dancers, glad she wasn't trying to protest. The last thing he wanted was to create a scene and allow Pansy to find him. As long as he had his mask covering his face, he'd blend in with everyone else. And for just one night in his life, being like everyone else was fine for Draco, as long as he could escape from Pansy.

Once he was satisfied he had lost Pansy, he stopped walking and turned to face the girl he'd grabbed. He didn't recognize her, mostly because he couldn't see her face. Wavy curls of lengthy brown hair settled from their bouncing as she came to a halt in front of him. The dress was a little black halter top that left little to the imagination, but it made you want to discover what little skin it covered. _She must be a Slytherin_, Draco thought as he looked at the contrasting white mask with bright pink jewels placed on it.

He slowly pulled her toward him and he felt them slowly lift off of the floor. As they came to a stop in the air, he saw how the ends of her mouth curled up in a little grin and he wanted to ask her what was so funny, but instead he just stared at her hair through the little slits in his mask. One of his hands rested on her hips while the other pulled her hand up closer to his side. He started swaying slowly to the music, if that's what they really called the crap coming from the stage. Her looks mesmerized him and Draco realized that this was the girl he'd come to the dance for this year. She was the girl he was going to take back to his room at the end of the dance.

"Michael?" Her voice startled him, although the name she called out confused him. It took him a moment to realize that he was in fact still wearing his mask, so there was no way she'd been able to recognize him. He smirked at her, now even more curious as to who the mystery girl was. He slowly pushed her away from him, releasing her hips for a brief moment to spin her around under their arms. When she returned to him, his hands found her side again and he slowly pulled her body flush up against his. Let her think he was whoever she wanted him to be, he didn't care for the night. As long as she wasn't Pansy, he didn't care who she was. The point was that she was beautiful and he had to find out why he didn't recognize her.

She wasn't good at dancing, Draco noted. That, or she wasn't motivated yet to really start moving. His hand pushed against her hip lightly and then pulled it back, causing her to move her hips side to side whether she wanted to or not. If he had to spend the entire night hiding from Pansy, then he was at least going to enjoy himself with whoever his masked goddess was. She finally seemed to relax in his arms, moving her hips by herself. Her free arm came up to wrap around his neck. They began to dance a little faster to try to catch up with the pounding rhythm of the music blaring from the middle of the large Great Hall.

He held back a little moan as her hips occasionally came into contact with his lower regions which felt like they were on fire. _She's probably a sixth year and that's why I don't recognize her_, he thought as they moved faster and faster. _I'll have to make sure I ask her name before we get back to my room. Or at least take off her mask so I can see her face a little more clearly_. He looked directly into her eyes, trying to memorize them and pull up any memory he had of a girl anything close to her, but nothing came up. He absentmindedly spun her around. As she began to turn back around to face him, he pulled her back up against him before she could face him again.

Now this was real dancing. The kind of dancing he did during the summer with all the beautiful women he managed to pick up at the clubs his father sent him to. But she danced better than any of those girls did, he thought to himself and she started moving her hips against him without his lead. He let his hands slide down her arms until they reached her hips again. He held onto her there and rested his head against the back of her head, staring straight ahead at all the other people dancing around them. So far, no annoying Pansy had managed to pull him away and Draco felt relief in the fact that he'd finally escaped from her for the night. Now all he had to do was get the little vixen in his arms to get out of there with him.

He felt her hands slowly come to rest on top of his. They were cool against his, which surprised him since he was almost sweating from the strain of all their dancing. Her fingers ran over his before sliding around his and pressing his hand a little tighter against her hips. She leaned her head back and he shifted just the slightest to the side to allow her head to fall onto his shoulder.

He could hear her soft breathing and even though he couldn't see, he knew she had closed her eyes. So maybe she was being affected by him, at least a little. Draco smirked to himself and let his chin rest on her shoulder. He turned to face the side of her face and he slowly began to suck on her outer earlobe. He wasn't quite sure why, but girls always seemed to enjoy anything a guy did to their ears. It fascinated him how her breathing increased as his tongue rolled around the outside of her ear and his teeth scraped softly around the bottom lobe of her ear.

The song finally ended and Draco was relieved until the next song started up. It was just as fast paced at the previous one and he knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up all night. He'd last another five minutes, tops, before he'd start sweating. And Malfoys never sweated, for it wasn't businesslike and very impolite. He felt her shift against him and she managed to lean forward a little. Her hips moved even faster, yet he couldn't force his body to sway any faster than it was already moving. Her fingers squeezed his even harder and Draco almost winced at the pain. She was quite strong for a female, he realized as she finally began to relax against him again.

When she leaned back against him again, Draco let go of her ear, tiring of its bland taste. When he let the side of his face rest against hers, he noticed that when he glanced down, he could see a good ways down the front of her dress, which only added to the seducing grip she had on him. He wanted to run his tongue around down there instead.

Again the song ended and Draco let out a silent sigh of relief when a slow song started up again. He pushed her slowly around until she was facing him again. He couldn't see her face, but he saw the pink tint to her skin on her neck and the part of her chest he could see. She was just as ready to leave as he was. He wanted to get away for the night, wanted to take her away with him. At the same time, something in his gut told him he was going to regret it. Something about the way her head tilted ever so slightly to the side when she looked at him bothered him because it seemed so familiar, but he couldn't place it to save his life.

He was surprised she made the first move. And he didn't even realize she'd gotten closer to him until her lips were pressed firmly against his and her tongue was prodding around the inside of his mouth. As soon as she kissed him, it didn't matter if he was going to regret it in the morning. He had to discover more of her, all of her. He silently pulled away and stopped dancing. She looked puzzled, even with her mask on. As their feet landed back on the floor, Draco let go of her hips in order to take her hand into his. Then he quickly pulled her away from the rest of the crowd, towards the entrance of the Great Hall, ignoring the look Dumbledore gave him as they slid past the headmaster and down the hallway towards the Slytherin tower.

She didn't say a word as he led her through the tangles of walls in Hogwarts. He'd memorized the path to the tower years ago, but it seemed to take longer than usual to get to his final destination. As they half walked, half ran down the long corridor towards the back of the school, the clinking of her shoes against the stone floors filled his ears. It almost drove him crazy, the sound repeating over and over, and each time her foot hit the floor, it seemed the hallway just grew longer and longer. Finally, he stopped running and turned around to face her. "Will you please take off those bloody shoes?" he hissed, trying to remember which hallway he needed to take to get to the tower. But now he couldn't remember where they were and he suddenly felt lost.

She didn't speak a word as she slipped off her shoes. As she took off the second one, she rested her hand against his shoulder to balance herself as she pulled the high heel off of her foot. She held them up to carry them and looked up at him. Draco turned back to the hallway that stretched out in front of them. _One of the teachers must have charmed it so that we couldn't get back until after the dance. They're really serious about student relationships this year_. He looked back at the girl standing quietly behind him. _Lot of bloody good they did_, he snickered to himself.

Giving up on trying to get back to the Head Boy's room through the halls, he reached out to the girl and took her hand, quickly Apparating them both to his room. One minute, they were standing in the hallway and the next they'd finally arrived in his private room. He released her hand, feeling funny holding it. He flicked his wand towards the fireplace and light filled the room as it started to warm the room up immediately.

"You know you're not allowed to Apparate yet," she told him calmly, pulling the mask off of her face. He flopped down on the couch in front of the fire. He stared at her face, taking in all the features he'd missed with the mask on. Her face was lightly tanned without a freckle or mole on it, no blemishes at all. Her smile, which always seemed to cover her face, went from ear to ear and almost touched her nose. Her eyes twinkled with the reflection of the fire.

"Yes, I do know that," he responded just as casually, reaching for the end table. He opened the drawer and pulled out an almost full bottle of Fire Whiskey. He then produced two shot glasses, filling them to the rim. "Well, don't just stand over there."

She slowly walked over to him and sat down next to him, taking the glass he offered her. He drained his in one small swallow and set it back down on the table. Pulling off his mask, he tossed it to the floor, barely missing the fire. _Almost a pity it didn't make it in_, he thought before turning back to face the mystery girl. She'd drank her shot glass, but now she was just staring at him, not moving a single millimeter. He raised an eyebrow at her before she suddenly jerked up, dropping the glass onto the carpet. "I really shouldn't be here," she muttered while she looked around everywhere.

Draco took his time standing up. "What in the world are you looking for?" he asked, as if he really cared. She didn't answer, just looked around frantically for something. She finally picked up her shoes and jammed her feet into them, walking to the door as she did. Finally, he realized she was going to try to leave. After everything, she was just leaving.

He beat her to the door. Arms crossed over his chest, he looked at her, "Where in the world are you going?" he asked. She shook her head, but she didn't try to push past him. His hand came up and he brushed his fingertips against the side of her face. She shifted her head away from his touch, just barely but he noticed it. "Are you disappointed now that you know who I am? Because, honestly, I'd say it's the first time someone's been unhappy that someone turned out to be me."

She looked up at him, directly looking into his eyes, and once against he felt that he shouldn't be keeping her here, that he shouldn't have brought her in the first place. But the alcohol was in his blood stream now and she was just too sexy to let escape. "I'm not disappointed," she whispered, "but I really can't do this, Malfoy." It was weird the way she said his name. Almost no one called him by his last name. Again he wondered why he didn't recognize her.

"Just stay for tonight," he whispered. He wouldn't give up that easily. Malfoys always got what they wanted and he wanted her tonight. Even if he couldn't see her again, he wanted her tonight. He didn't know why he needed her so badly, but he just felt it. It came from the same part of him that was begging him to let her leave now before he did anything stupid he would regret.

He brushed his lips against hers, unable to resist the urges he felt anymore. She seemed to cave then, leaning against him and allowing him to devour her. "Just tonight," she whispered and he nodded, catching her lips with his.


End file.
